Your Safety Matters
The safety of your personal and financial information is important to us. Here are some best practices to protect your information online.
Protect Yourself
Create Strong Passwords
- Recommended minimum of 12 characters in length for strong passwords, and 15 characters for highly confidential sites.
- Include numbers, capital letters, and symbols.
- Avoid personal details like your name or birthdate.
Other Best Practices
- Make sure your computer is actively protected.
- If you receive a one-time passcode that you didn't initiate, do not provide the code to anyone that contacts you requesting it.
- Use different passwords for different accounts.
- Never share your password with anyone else, including a supervisor or IT specialist.
- Never use a public computer (hotel, library, etc.) to log into an account.
- If you write down your password, be sure to store it in a secure location, never in public view.
Security Tips
Online Safety
Remember that once you post something online, it's there for the whole word to see.
- Protect your privacy: Be cautious about posting personal information such as date of birth, phone number, email address, or home address.
- Safeguard your online reputation: Only share photos and posts you'd feel comfortable having anyone see.
- Think before you share: Even deleted posts can be saved, shared, or screenshotted.
Computer and Mobile Device Safety
- Back up your data: Use an external hard drive, CD, DVD, or USB.
- Before donating or disposing of a computer:
- Clear all personal data.
- Contact the manufacturer for instructions on permanently deleting files.
- Update regularly: Install operating system and firmware updates.
- Lock your device: Use PIN, password, or Touch-ID for extra protection.
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